THE FINITE ELEMENT CIRCUS

Rutgers University -- Spring 2017

The Spring 2017 Finite Element Circus will be held at Rutgers University on April 21-22. If you plan to attend the Finite Element Circus, please register here Circus Registration. You may also view the current list of registered participants.

Meeting Place and Schedule

The Circus will be held in Conference Room A of the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center (RUICC), located at 178 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, NJ, on the Douglass Campus of Rutgers University. A map of the Douglass campus can be found at Douglass Campus Map. The Friday session will begin at 1:30 PM and the Saturday session will begin at 9 AM.

A light breakfast will be served on Saturday beginning at 8:30 AM in the area adjoining Conference Room A of the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center. A complementary lunch will be served on Saturday around noon.

Circus Dinner

The Circus Dinner on Friday, April 21 will start at 6:00 PM and be held in the Dining Room of the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center. The cost of the dinner is $32.00. If you have registered for the dinner, but have not already paid, please bring a check to the meeting. Checks should be payable to Rutgers University.

If you have questions, send email to mastrian@math.rutgers.edu

Accommodations

Note: As of April 5, 2017, all 27 rooms at the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center, described below, have been booked for the night of April 21, so you will need to consider one of the other hotels listed below.

A block of rooms (only 27) have been reserved at the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center. The rate is $82 for a single or double room. To make a reservation, you need to use the online reservation system at the above URL. The system requires you to find the Reservations button, select the check in and check out dates, and the number of guests. Enter the Promo/Group Code 19171. Click the Book button, verify the information, and click the Book Now button.

Note: The rooms are only reserved for the night of April 21. If you need to arrive earlier or leave later, and have to go outside that date, you will have to log back into the system and make additional reservations at prevailing rates. In this case, you should NOT re-enter the Promo/Group Code, since you will be making individual reservations, not group reservations. You also need to make a note alerting the staff that you are part of the Finite Element Circus Group, so you can have a continuous stay in one room.

There are also other hotels nearby and within walking distance of the New Brunswick train station (that are more expensive). There is a Rutgers rate, which you could ask for, but it may not be less expensive.

The Hyatt Regency of New Brunswick
2 Albany Street, New Brunswick NJ 08901
1.4 miles (30 minute walk) from the RUICC.

The Heldrich
10 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
1.2 miles (25 minute walk) from the RUICC.

If you have a car, then there are other hotels in the area, which are about 2 miles from the RUICC. However, it is not clear to me that there is any reasonable way to walk to the RUICC from these hotels.

Hilton East Brunswick
3 Tower Center Blvd, East Brunswick, NJ 08816

Holiday Inn Express & Suites
Tower Center, East Brunswick

Red Carpet Inn
26 US-1, New Brunswick, NJ

Transportation, Directions, and Parking

Rutgers University has several campuses in New Brunswick/Piscataway. The Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center is located on the Douglass Campus in New Brunswick. Note there is also the College Avenue Campus in New Brunswick and the Busch and Livingston Campuses in Piscataway. Hence, a sign indicating an exit is for Rutgers may not take you where you want to go. Some useful things to know are that the Rutgers football stadium is on the Busch Campus and that a river separates New Brunswick from Piscataway.

The nearest airport is Newark Liberty Airport, about 40 minutes by car from the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center. From the airport, the cheapest way to get to Rutgers is to take the Airtrain to the Newark Airport train station, a NJ Transit train to New Brunswick (see www.njtransit.com for schedules), and then a taxi (or campus bus) to the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center. A more expensive option is to take a taxi from the airport.

Note that New Jersey Transit trains stop at the New Brunswick train station. The closest station for Amtrak trains is at MetroPark, about a 25 minute car ride from the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center. Guests may use Rutgers campus buses to travel to the Douglass campus or to other points on the New Brunswick/Piscataway campuses. The university bus system is complimentary to all riders. The Katzenbach stop is located at the top of the parking lot of the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center. During the week the EE and F routes service this location. On the weekend, Weekend I and Weekend II routes service this location.

Directions to the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center

FROM THE NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE: Take Exit 9; bear right after the toll and merge on to Route 18 North. Take the Exit for Route 1 SOUTH. Stay in the RIGHT lane. Take the FIRST Ryders Lane exit towards New Brunswick. The exit is immediately after the Sears, BEFORE the underpass. Go through 1 traffic light. When the road curves 90-degrees to the left, the driveway/entrance to the Rutgers University Inn & Conference Center is on your right.

Parking

Complimentary Parking for Circus participants (no permits required) is available at the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center Lot 82 or at Lot 74A.

Lunch on Friday

There are several options within walking distance of the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center. The Cook Campus student dining facility, Neilson Dining Hall, is across the street. It is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the university academic semester. The Douglass Campus Center offers a Dunkin' Donuts and a cafe year round. Harvest features a menu focused on minimally processed food and locally sourced products. Located inside the New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health on Cook Campus, Harvest is open for breakfast and lunch service Monday through Friday. Cafe 52 is a coffee and sandwich bar located in the Robert E. Mortensen Hall atrium within the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center on Douglass Campus. Cafe 52 is open Monday through Friday through the school year. See Cook-Douglass dining options for more information. Both Houlihan's and On the Border restaurants are approximately a 10-15 minute walk.